


Look at All the Lonely People

by sleepymarvel



Category: Mystery Science Theater 3000
Genre: Gen, ILY, enjoy, green eggs and ham by dr suess, he just wants a good nights sleep, joel is really tired, joel is the best dad is space and loves his kids, okay that's all dudes, story time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-22
Updated: 2017-11-22
Packaged: 2019-02-05 07:42:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12789930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepymarvel/pseuds/sleepymarvel
Summary: Joel just wants a good night's sleep.





	Look at All the Lonely People

**Author's Note:**

> I was briefly inspired,  
> only briefly,  
> here's what came of it,  
> with love,  
> enjoy.

 For a few hours, every night, it was quiet on the Satellite of Love. Joel would lay down on the cot in his room and stare blankly at the plastic neon stars on the ceiling. They glowed green, indefinitely, even during the day. It was something he planned on using for an invention exchange; plastic neon stars that didn’t need light to be recharged, but then he felt like that would be exploiting something that was good. The plastic stars were something good, something that was his, and something that lulled him to sleep some nights; nights when all he could think of was his apartment back home, plastic stars that he had bought at Walmart glued to the ceiling. 

Hey, they didn’t beat the real life stars that danced outside the window, except sometimes it felt like they did because unlike the stars outside the window in his cabin, they were _his_.

So that night, as the Satellite sat in eerie silence, Joel shrugged off his Gizmonics jumpsuit and set the story book he had been reading to the bots on the nightstand.

_G_ _reen Eggs and Ham_ by Doctor Seuss

“What, is this Sam guy in the KGB or something? He doesn’t want the ham! Leave him alone!” Tom had declared, sardonically.

“Why are the eggs green?! What did he do to them! What did he do!” Crow cried, in horror. “Oh the humanity.”

“Next week on Criminal Minds, the big fluffy dog thing turns up dead. A team of professional profilers take the case. Sam I Am poisoned the eggs and ham. What. A. Jerk.” Tom Servo added.

Joel had smiled, more to himself than to the bots, and flipped the cover of the book closed. “So what do you think the lesson of that book was?”

Tom Servo straightened up, putting on his most serious voice, expecting Joel to give them ram chips before they went to bed. “Uh, if you peer pressure someone enough eventually they’ll fold under your harsh authoritarian command.”

“Um well that’s not exactly...”

 “Taking food from strangers is good.” Crow added, unsure. He wanted ram chips too.

 "Well, the moral was supposed to be that you don’t really know if you like something until you try it."

Crow and Tom Servo shared a brief look. "Boring Joel. So boring!"  Crow stated. "How do you know what Mr. Suess was thinking when he wrote the book?"

"Dr." Tom chimed in.

"What?" Crow gave Tom a confused look.

"He has his doctorate you buffoon!"

"Boys-" Joel sighed, usually he'd say something to stop the two from arguing but he was just so tired. He hadn't been able to sleep at all the previous night. He kept thinking about his mom (on earth, alone, wondering why her son hasn't come home yet) and about how snow felt against his face, and how grass felt between his toes. All he could do that night was stare out the window on the bridge, (when everyone else was sleeping, even Gypsy who was curled up peacefully in her tubing), his hands pressed against the glass, the stars glowing; much more bright and magnificent than those above the cot in his cabin. No sleep for the prisoners in space.

The bots were still arguing as he thought of this, he didn't know what about at that point. He realized he'd been disassociating. When he refocused, Tom was criticizing Crow's music taste and Crow was saying that Tom's music taste was so off that his criticism was more of a compliment.

"It's late, and you guys are overtired.” Joel began walking towards the opening to the bots cabin, flicking off the lights. “Okay, goodnight Captain Crow. First Officer Servo.” He did a mock salute, which came across more goofy than anything. He was clearly as overtired as they were. 

“Hey what’s the deal? Where’s our ram chips?” Crow asked, as Joel was making his way out the door.

“You guys know the rules, no arguing when it's bedtime." Joel said, his tiredness was beginning to show. He rubbed at his eyes. He was seeing double. Two Crows and two Servos, oh God, he was so tired. He thought it was ironic. He was shot into space by two mad scientists and became a dad. 

“Wow what a stiff.” Tom said, not mean hearted.

At that point the bots both took turns booing him as he left the room.

Joel had sleepily left their cabin, making his way down the ship's corridors. He had a Beatles song stuck in his head and felt himself humming the song as he walked towards his cabin. He felt like he was going crazy. He just need to sleep, to close his eyes for a few minutes...

_All the lonely people_

_Where do they all come from?_

_All the lonely people_

_Where do they all belong_ _?_

Distracted, he tripped over Gypsy’s tubing and fell on his face. Groaning he pulled himself up on a railing the reached the length of the hallway. Gypsy gawked for a moment before she began apologizing profusely and unnecessarily. Joel figured it was his fault more than anything, he wasn't paying attention.

He told her it was fine, it was his fault, she's beautiful and he made her tubing for a reason. He's just overtired. 

She opened her mouth and said, “Oh thank you!! Thank you! You’re beautiful too Joel!” And then continued down the hallway.

"Goodnight Joel." Magic voice chimed in pleasantly."

"Goodnight, Ma'am." Joel responded. _God,_ _he was so tired._

It was late. And it was quiet. And Joel had just set his book down on his nightstand and shrugged off his jumpsuit. He sat on his cot and stared up at his neon stars and just as he lay back, his head hitting the pillow, he heard Gypsy screaming from the bridge and he shot up.

It wasn’t a normal scream, but rather an exaggerated “Ahhhhhhhh.” And then “Ahhhhhh.” And then, “Ah!”

Joel rubbed his eyes, it was going to be a long night.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, so this is my first fanfiction so I hope you liked it! I had originally intended on having this be a multiple chapter story, but I’m afraid to add to it as I’m so happy with how it reads currently. I really love it! So, this is going to stay a one shot. 
> 
> This fanfic was inspired by the song Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles.


End file.
